Monday, 18 Apr 2005

While certain environmental magazines spent the first third of the year obsessing over the alleged "death" of environmentalism, activists around the world put introspection aside and tackled concrete threats with action, commitment, and tenacity. Six of them are being honored today with the annual Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots activism. This Earth Week, Grist sits down for a chat with each one, starting today with Kaisha Atakhanova, who sparked an environmental movement in her homeland of Kazakhstan and blocked legislation that would have imported more nuclear waste there. Tune in throughout the week for this and other stories of hope and courage.

Here's a Solution. Now What Was Your Problem Again?

Bush administration pushes energy bill as solution to high gas prices

American citizens -- or "consumers," as they're known these days -- are irritated about high gas prices, and many of them blame President Bush, whose popularity has hit new lows. Of course, presidents are hardly responsible for short-term swings in commodity prices. Nevertheless, Bush is rising to his fake responsibility with a fake solution. On Saturday, in his weekly radio address, he expressed sympathy about gas prices and said the solution is for Congress to pass his energy bill, which would, in fact, do nothing to affect short-term gas prices. Most analysts say the best way to reduce gas prices is to reduce demand by raising the fuel efficiency of America's vehicles. But the House blocked an effort to do that last week. Instead, the energy bill contains massive subsidies and tax breaks for the coal, oil, and natural-gas industries, legal protections for manufacturers of groundwater-polluting fuel additive MTBE, and less than $500 million in tax incentives for renewable energy and fuel-efficiency efforts. A cure for whatever ails ya!


Mark Shelley's latest film, National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth, is a documentary about the fate of the planet amidst the threats of invasive species, climate change, and toxics in our environment -- hosted by eco-dreamboat Ed Norton. As this week's InterActivist, Shelley explains why he felt this series was so important to produce, how he got into film production in the first place, and why he's looking forward to a hearty meal of grass-fed buffalo. Produce a question of your own for Shelley by noon PDT on Wednesday, April 20; we'll publish his responses to selected questions on Friday.

And By "Miscellaneous" We Mean "Nefarious"

Substantial changes to Clean Air Act slipped into energy bill

Buried deep in the energy bill, filed under "Miscellaneous," is a tiny bit of text that could affect the Clean Air Act in a big way. The provision, authored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would allow "downwind" states like New York and other Northeastern states to postpone fulfillment of clean-air standards until offending "upwinders" clean up their act. If the energy bill becomes law, this provision would represent one of the most significant changes to the Clean Air Act in 15 years, and opponents say it could also undermine the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which sets power-plant emission limits for Eastern states. The U.S. EPA has not yet taken a position on the provision, but agency spokesperson John Millett showed a talent for pithy understatement when he said, "Some people think it's a good idea. Most don't."

Rice-A-Phony

China, Europe experiencing illegal GM crop introductions

Two delicious scandals are brewing over the illegal introduction of genetically modified crops -- rice in China and corn in Europe -- onto the open market. In China, Greenpeacers sounded the GM alarm after buying bags of an "anti-pest" variety of rice, sending them to biotech labs, and finding that some of the grains were genetically altered and thus illegal for sale in the country. Greenpeace has accused a group of "rogue scientists" of selling experimental varieties of GM rice in the province of Hubei. Meanwhile, British ports have begun refusing all imports of U.S. corn following an allegation that American farmers have been illegally exporting GM corn as animal feed to Europe for the past four years. The port-blocking move was prompted by the European Commission, which forced action on the issue after officials on both sides of the Atlantic tried to keep the scandal hush-hush.